


Day 21: Childhood Friends

by CosmoandWanda



Series: AU August [21]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15758109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmoandWanda/pseuds/CosmoandWanda
Summary: It's been three months since Adrien's mom went missing, and Nino will do anything to make his friend smile again.





	Day 21: Childhood Friends

Adrien was hiding again. Nino knew that he probably had another fight with his dad, especially given the look Nathalie directed at him as he walked into the mansion. Only recently had Gabriel begun to express his opinion that Adrien ought to find friends in someone other than Nino. He didn’t take it personally, Emilie always had been nicer to him than Gabriel was. Nathalie only communicated with him through her facial expressions since she had been hired. Today it seemed she was concerned.

Nino nodded at her, swinging himself around the banister to run up the stairs. He made sure to make plenty of noise as he ascended, hoping it would draw Adrien out. Room after room tried to absorb his footfalls with their encompassing silence. 

It had been three months since Adrien’s mom disappeared. Three months turned the house from a wonderland to a prison, and Nino was tired of it. He was tired of seeing his best friend lose the laugh lines that used to constantly be present on his face. He was tired of silence. He was tired of the hiding. 

Blonde hair peeked out from around the corner of an open room. Nino stepped inside, immediately sitting down heavily next to Adrien. They didn’t look at each other for a moment, until Adrien rested his head on Nino’s shoulder. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” Nino suggested. 

“We have to go with my bodyguard,” came the monotoned reply.

“You’ve got a body guard now?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Nino said, pulling himself up from the floor before offering a hand to Adrien. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, let’s go.”

Vestiges of a smile passed through Adrien’s eyes before he took Nino’s hand. They walked through the house, finding the Gorilla near Nathalie’s office. 

“Hey man, I’m Nino. We were gonna talk a walk, you wanna come?”

Nino wasn’t expecting silence. The Gorilla looked between Nino and Adrien for a beat before nodding. He smiled at the tall man, turning on his heel to lead his childhood friend out of the marble cage he lived in. 

The air seemed cleaner with Adrien at his side, even if he wasn’t as energetic as before. Memories of trips to the park, of small hands deep in a sandbox, of sharing in games flitted through Nino’s thoughts. A sideways glance at Adrien told him those happy visions weren’t on his mind. Determined to change that, Nino grabbed Adrien’s hand and took off. 

“Race you to the Seine!” Nino shouted, keeping a hand on his cap. 

“Hey- wait!” Adrien yelped as Nino pulled ahead, letting their hands fall apart. 

“C’mon bodyguard, you’re faster than this- can’t you beat a fencer and a music kid?”

Adrien laughed then, increasing his speed as he took the lead over Nino. Heavy steps behind them indicated the Gorilla had also begun to run, and Nino let out a whoop at the realization. The odd trio made their way through the streets. Adrien maintained the lead, though Nino’s jabs about his long legs did make him laugh enough to make it a close call. By the time they reached the river they were all out of breath. 

Adrien looked at Nino with wide eyes, the spark that had seemed so dim earlier shone clear as day. A flush from exercise had taken root on his cheeks, making Adrien look cherubic as he smiled. 

“I won,” he panted, lightly poking Nino in the shoulder. Nino rolled his eyes.

“Like I really had a chance anyway,” he replied, chuckling. 

Nino was tired, sure, but every moment of waiting and being there for Adrien was worth it. Taking in his grin and small laugh, Nino knew he would wait forever for the friend he had known since infancy. It would take time for that smile to become as wide as it had been, for his heart to be pieced back together again, but he would be there through every step with extra tape in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> If I had the energy this would have been a series of memories leading up to Nino proposing to Adrien. I might write that at some point, but not today TT-TT


End file.
